School-Level Analyses of NWRI
Takeaways
For grades 3-5, there is a positive relationship between a school’s NWRI enrollment % and a school’s average FAST ELA score (PM2, Grades 3-5, 2024-25).
This relationship is strongest for schools with higher proportions of economically disadvantaged students which are also schools that have higher than average eligibility and lower than average enrollment numbers (across K-5).**
MAIN POINTS: Eligibility, Enrollment, and Economic Disadvantage across schools for Grades K through 5
Data shows that schools with the highest percentage of eligible students for grades K through 5 have higher percentages of economically disadvantaged students. This pattern is NOT an artefact of Title I vs. Non-Title I schools (Figure 1 below). Additionally, schools above the average eligibility percentage (dashed lines Figure 1), are schools with higher percentages of English Language Learners (ELLs).
There are 783 schools that have a lower than average enrollment and higher than average eligibility (Figure 2) and they make up 32 % of all schools in the analysis. These schools on average have 91% of their student enrollment classified as economically disadvantaged while the other schools average at 70%.
MAIN POINTS: Impacts of NWRI enrollment on FAST Reading Scores for Grades 3-5 PM2 2024-25
Increasing NWRI Enrollment is significantly associated with higher average FAST ELA scores BUT this effect is moderated by the percent of economically disadvantaged students in a school (Figure 2).
Specifically, our model indicates that schools with ~ 80% of their students being classified as economically disadvantaged show a strong positive relationship between NWRI enrollment percentage and average FAST ELA score. This relationship begins to break down under this ~ 80% value.
Descriptive Analyses
We were able to calculate school specific variables for 2,453 schools across 75 districts. Certain variables were calculated using student data from grades K through 5 while others only used data from grades 3 through 5 (namely test scores). Variables to note are included in Table 1.
Table 1.
| Variable | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NWRI enrollment percent | Percent of students enrolled in NWRI across grades K through 5. | Not all schools may include grades K or other grades. |
| NWRI eligible percent | Percent of students not enrolled in NWRI but are eligible across grades K through 5. | |
| Average FAST Reading Score | The average FAST score calculated using scores from PM2 (2024-25) for grades 3 to 5. | K-2 take a different exam and the ability to standardize scores between the two types is questionable |
| Percent Economically Disadvantaged Students | The percent of students in the school with a lunch code status of “C,” “R,” “3,” “D,” “E,” “F,” or “4” on Survey 3 of the 2023-24 school year. | For breakdown: https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/18617/urlt/1819-146025.pdf |
| Title 1 School | Whether a school is a Title 1 school or not |
In general we observe that schools with higher percentages of economically disadvantaged students are also schools with higher eligibility percentages (Figure 1). This general trend was observed across both Title I and Non-Title I schools. In general eligibility percentages also seemed to be higher in Title I schools (65.8%) versus Non-Title I schools (52.4%).
Schools that have a lower than average enrollment but higher than average eligibility become of significant interest (Figure 3 orange square). These schools are mostly comprised of Title I schools (Figure 3). Although 171 schools were not able to be classified as Title I or not (new schools not updated in the database).
There are 783 schools that can be found in the orange square (Figure 3 & 4). Together they have 187,043 students through grades K-5 who are eligible for NWRI. This represents 34% of all eligible students in grades K-5 across the schools in this analysis. Most of these schools are found in Hillsborough County with 21,190 eligible students across 88 schools. But the county with most students per school on average is Hendry County at 505 students. For more extensive data for each of these schools please use the interactive table below. Note: It is often easier to search for the county and then click it to view the schools and their statistics. You can sort the table by different columns as well.